No. 1 UConn rips Army

HARTFORD -- Mel Thomas had been in a bit of a shooting slump, hitting just two 3-pointers in her last four games.

She shot her way out of that Monday, hitting her first seven shots, including five from behind the arc, and Connecticut opened its second week as the No. 1 team in the nation by routing Army, 82-33.

"I wanted to try and have a little bit more swagger," Thomas said. "I wanted to get it back a little bit and get it up in the air, and it went in tonight."

Thomas led UConn with 19 points in 26 minutes. She finished 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and moved past Sue Bird and Jennifer Rizzotti into fourth place on UConn's career 3-point list with 212.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma said the senior guard had been having a tough time putting her misses behind her, and needed a confidence boost.

"Once those first couple went in, you knew every one was going to go in," he said. "That's kind of how Mel is."

The Huskies (11-0) put away the Black Knights (6-6) early in this New Year's Eve matinee, opening the game with a 17-3 run.

Army scored the next eight, but the Huskies responded with a 14-2 spurt and were not challenged again. They led 47-15 at the break, and sat their regulars for much of the second half.

Army coach Dave Magarity said Thomas' shooting sent his game plan down the drain.

"It just completely flushes it," he said. "We thought we could buy time in a zone. They do such a good job of making the extra pass. They are such an unselfish team."

Army (6-6) was led by Cara Enright's seven points. Erin Anthony added four points and nine rebounds for the Black Knights.

UConn's Renee Montgomery had 12 points and freshman Maya Moore added 11 points and six assists. She has been in double figures in all 11 games.

Charde Houston, starting for the first time since Nov. 22, scored 10 points and had four steals. Houston had not scored more than six points all season, and had lost her starting job to Brittany Hunter.

Hunter aggravated her surgically repaired right knee in Saturday's win over Hartford, did not play on Monday, and could miss Thursday's Big East opener at Villanova.

"I found out that I was starting and so wanted to make sure that I came up with a lot of intensity, so that we wouldn't lack anything losing Britt," Houston said.

The Huskies, who won their first 10 games by an average of 41 points, again dominated on defense. They held Army to 28 percent shooting, forced 24 turnovers and outrebounded the Black Knights 40-28.

Connecticut has won 24 consecutive regular-season games and has won its last 205 against unranked opponents. Army became the ninth UConn foe this season to lose by at least 30 points, but Auriemma said he doesn't expect that trend to continue.

"We've played a lot of teams that don't know anything about us," he said. "I think starting down at Villanova, you're playing someone who is very familiar with what you do. I would like to think that this is a good send-off, it's good preparation for what is going to happen. But it's a whole new season now."

Huskies hold on

to poll's top spot

Arkansas has the most wins in the country, and now it's getting some votes. The Lady Razorbacks, one of only three unbeaten teams, joined The Associated Press rankings Monday at No. 25.

Connecticut held the top spot for the second straight week. The Huskies received 49 of the 50 first-place votes. Stanford, which received the other first-place vote, held the No. 2 position.

Arkansas leads the nation with 14 victories after winning the 2007 Blue Sky Classic on Sunday. UConn and Georgia are the only other unbeaten teams.

The Lady Razorbacks, who were last in the Top 25 on Jan. 8, 2007, don't play until Saturday when they host Texas Tech in the final nonconference game on their schedule.

Arkansas opens its SEC season on Jan. 10 against LSU.

After almost four years away from the top spot, UConn fared better in its first game as No. 1 than its last appearance.

The Huskies (10-0) last reached the top spot on Feb. 23, 2004, and promptly lost to Villanova in their next game.

This time, Connecticut routed Hartford 70-24 Saturday in its first game as the top team, then blew out Army 82-33 Monday afternoon. Coach Geno Auriemma said the ranking has given his team a boost.

"The guys that we have right now, they're not exactly the most confident guys in the world to begin with," Auriemma said. "So, something like this probably makes them feel like they are 10 feet tall.

"If that's what it does, then, great," he said. "They've never been there and that is something they've aspired to, and the fact that they are there can only help them."

There was no movement among the top seven teams. Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland, Rutgers and Georgia all held their spots after Connecticut and Stanford.

The top seven cruised this week, winning by an average of 35 points. Georgia (12-0) was the only team that had a tough contest, beating Florida State in overtime Saturday night in the Florida International University Sun & Fun Classic.

Oklahoma, Baylor and California moved up a spot, passing LSU, which fell to No. 11 after splitting a pair of games without All-American Sylvia Fowles. She is sidelined after having knee surgery Dec. 21 and is expected back in a few weeks.

It's the first time that California has ever been ranked in the top 10.

Duke and Texas A&M each climbed one place, while Notre Dame jumped two spots. DePaul fell three places to No. 15 after suffering its first loss.

The Longhorns moved up three places to 16. They were followed by West Virginia, Auburn, Old Dominion and George Washington. The Lady Monarchs made the biggest leap, moving up four spots after beating then-No. 20 Vanderbilt 80-65 on Sunday.

Ohio State, Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma State and Arkansas held the final five spots.